Judge Sotomayor's "wise Latina" remark -

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Sun Jul-19-09 11:33 PM
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Judge Sotomayor's "wise Latina" remark -

honestly, was there anyone here at DU who: was offended by it, found it to be racist, did not agree with it, or did not understand it, before reading it in context? And if so, please explain. What you thought she meant. How you were offended. Why you don't (didn't) agree with her.

It was clear to me from the first I heard it (out of context), and I couldn't agree with Judge Sotomayor more. Replace "Latina" with any minority or oppressed group, and the same holds true, imo. Experience plays a huge role in helping to develop wisdom, for everyone.

One of Judge Sotomayor's many responses to the incessant questioning about her wise Latina remark during last week's confirmation hearing: "I do believe that every person has an equal opportunity to be a good and wise judge, regardless of their background or life experiences."

That so many of the conservative old white privileged racist males remain clueless about the world around them is by choice, not because of a handicap, or a natural inferiority, as they would like you to believe was Judge Sotomayor's assertion. You don't necessarily have to live it to learn it. But as witnessed by the questioning last week, you can surely choose to ignore it.

For anyone who hasn't had the opportunity, here are three paragraphs from her 2001 address to the 'Raising the Bar' symposium at the UC Berkeley School of Law (the full address can be found http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/05/26_sotomayor.shtml">here.):

'In our private conversations, Judge Cedarbaum has pointed out to me that seminal decisions in race and sex discrimination cases have come from Supreme Courts composed exclusively of white males. I agree that this is significant but I also choose to emphasize that the people who argued those cases before the Supreme Court which changed the legal landscape ultimately were largely people of color and women. I recall that Justice Thurgood Marshall, Judge Connie Baker Motley, the first black woman appointed to the federal bench, and others of the NAACP argued Brown v. Board of Education. Similarly, Justice Ginsburg, with other women attorneys, was instrumental in advocating and convincing the Court that equality of work required equality in terms and conditions of employment.'

'Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences, a possibility I abhor less or discount less than my colleague Judge Cedarbaum, our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging. Justice O'Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. I am not so sure Justice O'Connor is the author of that line since Professor Resnik attributes that line to Supreme Court Justice Coyle. I am also not so sure that I agree with the statement. First, as Professor Martha Minnow has noted, there can never be a universal definition of wise. Second, I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.'

'Let us not forget that wise men like Oliver Wendell Holmes and Justice Cardozo voted on cases which upheld both sex and race discrimination in our society. Until 1972, no Supreme Court case ever upheld the claim of a woman in a gender discrimination case. I, like Professor Carter, believe that we should not be so myopic as to believe that others of different experiences or backgrounds are incapable of understanding the values and needs of people from a different group. Many are so capable. As Judge Cedarbaum pointed out to me, nine white men on the Supreme Court in the past have done so on many occasions and on many issues including Brown.'